A Twisted Tale

This is a tale of horror, suspense and mystery. Chelsea was born on a warm rainy night, and he already knew who she looked like. She had her father’s eyes, her mother’s hair, and grandma’s gray spot on the ear. Four days passed, when he placed his cold hand around Chelsea, and tightly wrapped a rubber band around her tail. She whimpered as anyone would, but nothing stopped the pain. A couple days of agony went by, and the tail falls. Chelsea has entered into the Society of Docked Dogs.
The earliest form of docking dates back to the first century. According to Desmond Morris in his book Dog Watching, the practice was introduced by Columella, a Roman agriculturalist. He instructed that four-day-old puppies should have their tails bitten off to protect them from rabies (Morris 119). This practice soon lost its original purpose and acquired new reasons including: the prevention of back and tail injuries, enabling the dog to run faster, and promoting better hygiene. Today, these reasons encompass only part of the pro docking argument. Other arguments include the beliefs that the puppies do not experience pain and that the owner has a right to do as he wishes. I will be unraveling their arguments on whether puppies experience pain, if tail damage is prevented, and hygiene issues.
Some of those who support the docking of dogs believe that puppies are too young to feel any pain. In the Australian Veterinary Journal, Robert K Wansbrough explains the fallacies of this in the following remark “Anatomical studies have shown that the density of cutaneous nociceptive nerve endings in the late fetus and newborn animal may equal or exceed that of adult skin” (Wansbrough). So we see that puppies may feel more pain than adult dogs. According to Tail Docking in dogs: a review of the issues written by PC Bennett and E Perini, a study called Behavioral observations of puppies undergoing tail docking recorded the responses of 50 puppies. They found
…all puppies struggled and vocalized intensely and repeatedly at the time of amputation, recording an average of 24 ‘shrieks’ and 18 ‘whimpers’ during and immediately after docking. They also vocalized intensely as a suture was applied (Bennett).
They went on to explain that vocalization was one indicator of pain being experienced (Bennett).
On Counsel of Docked Breed’s website, they claim that using the proper anesthetics makes the process painless (www.cdb.org), yet according to the New South Wales’ legislative counsel, these drugs are impractical for use on puppies, and may result in serious complications; therefore they are usually not used (Wales). If therefore, a puppy experiences pain and can not handle anesthetics then docking is inhumane.
According to the Counsel of Docked Breeds website, a working dog has a high likelihood of damaging its tail and therefore needing it to be amputated (www.cdb.org). Yet according to New South Wales, “Inflicting an unnecessary and potentially painful injury to prevent an accidental one that may, but is unlikely to, occur appears to be contrary to the animal's welfare” (Wales). In Sweden, tail injuries among previously docked breeds rose from 38% to 51% since docking was banned in 1989 (www.cdb.org). Although I understand why this would alarm some, this statistic is not conclusive enough to warrant docking. 51% is not much if the total number of tail injuries involved only ten dogs. According to Amy L. Broughton, “statistics concerning tail injuries are often misleading, as not all tail injuries require a full amputation. Many injuries require only a cleaning and natural healing” (Broughton). Unfortunately, the owners of working dogs often do not have time for natural healing, which may be the reason they have the tail amputated instead. Broughton points out that there are many working dogs whose tails are not docked, as well as the many non-working dogs whose tails are docked (Broughton). For example, the Bearded Collie is an undocked dog who works under the same conditions as an Old English Sheep dog that is docked. To further the irony, if the Old English Sheep Dog were allowed to grow his tail, it would resemble the tail of the Bearded Collie. Unless they also dock the Bearded Collie, this argument clearly falls to pieces.
The Old English Sheep dog is one of several docked breeds whose thick fur can get in the way of cleanliness. If the dog is not properly brushed and bathed by a responsible owner, the tail can create added problems for the dog, and the vet who untangles the mess. This is possibly the most illogical of all the pro docking arguments. The first flaw is similar to that of the last argument, undocked Bearded Collies have similar fur, and yet no one suggests docking them. Further, the likelihood of an Old English Sheep dog having a negligent owner is slim. Breeders are very particular regarding to whom they sell their puppies, and therefore, they would not sell one to an owner who does not properly take care of his dogs. That cuts down on the likelihood of negligent owners considerably. Because many Old English Sheep dogs have their fur shaved off during the summer, grooming only becomes an issue for part of the year.
Tail damage and bad grooming, both of these are possible futures for an undocked dog. Yet, is it logical to ban cars because the high likelihood of people crashing and perhaps dying? If we would not ban cars, though the risks are high, then why would you cut off every tail of traditionally docked breeds for mere possibilities? Perhaps you would like to see cars banned, yet the proof that puppies do experience pain is enough to see the problems with the docking process. Docking causes puppies’ extreme pain and since there is little justification it is inhumane and unacceptable.

Works Cited
Bennett, PC and E Perini “Tail docking in dogs: a review of the issues” PC Bennett and E Perini Australian Veterinary Journal 81.4 April 2003

Broughton, Amy L. “Cropping and Docking: A Discussion of the Controversy and the Role of Law in preventing, Unnecessary Cosmetic Surgery on Dogs” Michigan State University College of Law: Animal Legal & Historical Web Center 2003 http://www.animallaw.info/articles/dduscroppingdocking.htm#1

Counsel of Docked Breeds, www.cdb.org 27 March 2005

Morris, Desmond Dog Watching New York: New York, 1987
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Amendment (Tail Docking) Bill 10 March 2004 New South

Wales Legislative Council Hansard, Pages 6933 - 6935 (article 33) http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC20040310033

Wansbrough, Robert K. “Cosmetic Tail Docking of Dogs’ Tails” Australian Veterinary Journal 74.1 July 1996